John Denny (Medal of Honor)

John Denny
Sergeant John Denny
Born	c. 1849 Big Flats, New York, US
Died	November 28, 1901 (aged 52)
Place of burial	United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery Washington, D.C.
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1867–1897
Rank	First Sergeant
Unit	9th Cavalry Regiment
Battles / wars	American Indian Wars
Awards	Medal of Honor

John Denny (c. 1849 – November 28, 1901) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.

Career

Denny joined the Army from Elmira, New York in 1867, and, by September 18, 1879, was serving as a First Sergeant in Company C of the 9th Cavalry Regiment. On that day, his unit participated in an engagement against Chief Victorio and his band of Apaches at Las Animas Canyon, New Mexico, and Denny "[r]emoved a wounded comrade, under a heavy fire, to a place of safety." For his actions, Sergeant Denny was awarded the Medal of Honor fifteen years later, in January 1895.

Denny retired from the Army in September 1897 as a corporal. He received a pension but also worked at the Fort Robinson post exchange. He moved to the US Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C. sometime in or after 1899 and died there in 1901^[1] at the age of 52.^[2] Denny was buried at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.^[3]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company C, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Las Animas Canyon, N. Mex., September 18, 1879. Entered service at: 1867 Elmira, N.Y. Birth: Big Flats, N.Y. Date of issue: November 27, 189i.

Citation:

Removed a wounded comrade, under a heavy fire, to a place of safety.^[4]

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars
• List of African-American Medal of Honor recipients

Notes

1. Schubert, Frank N. (1997). Black Valor: Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor, 1870-1898. Scholarly Resources Inc. p. 57. ISBN 9780842025867.
2. "Health Office Record: Deaths". The Washington Post. December 12, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
3. "John Denny". Veterans Legacy Memorial. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
4. "Indian War Period Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on November 6, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2007.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

• "Indian War Period Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on November 6, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2007.